Dominic Thiem is planning to travel to New York to play at the Western and Southern Open and at the US Open. Thiem feels that he could decide to pull out of the US tournaments and stay in Europe to prepare for Rome and the French Open, if it would be necessary to be in quarantine on his return to Europe.
“When the tour resumes, I will be ready. If it is not played, I will be a little more time at home. I see in a neutral way. Tennis is one of the biggest sports in the world, and others like Formula 1 and basketball have already returned. It’s time for tennis to continue this trend”, said Thiem in an interview to the Standard.
Thiem is keen on taking part at the US Open despite the restrictions. The Austrian player is bidding to win his first Grand Slam title after losing three consecutive finals at the French Open in 2018 and 2019 and at the Australian Open in 2020. He came close to winning the Melbourne final against Novak Djokovic last January when he was leading by two sets to one. Djokovic came back to win the final in five sets.
Thiem is aiming at his first Grand Slam title in New York.
“The expectations for me are quite high. All of us will have a completely new experience. There will be no spectators, a very small team, staying only in the hotel. You have to be honest and keep in mind that many top players will not attend the tournament. That means going far in this tournament it would be worth much less than normal compared to the Australian Open this year. Despite that, I am looking forward to playing”, continued Thiem.
Thiem is planning to play in Kitzbuhel, Rome and Roland Garros. He will be able to play in Kitzbuhel only if the Austrian tournament will be postponed by one week to avoid the clash with the second week of the US Open. After the Madrid Mutua Open was cancelled, there are rumours that Kitzbuhel could be moved into Madrid’s vacated week.
